Follow-up study of adolescents who participated in the Infant Health and Development Program

The Foundation's Infant Health and Development Program was designed to learn how to improve the health and functioning of low birthweight infants. The national collaborative study was designed to test the efficacy of combining early child development services with pediatric care in reducing the incidence of health and development problems among these infants. The Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP) began in 1982. It was the first--and to date remains the only--multisite randomized clinical trial to test the effectiveness of intensive early health and developmental services for premature low birth-weight infants (LBW). Results of IHDP at three years of age following the intervention phase, and at follow-up at five and eight years of age, showed increased school achievement and reduced risky behavior. The IHDP cohort of approximately 1,000 subjects is now 16 to 17 years of age. Several studies have shown "sleeper effects" of early intervention programs, in terms of physical and mental health outcomes, behaviors, retention in school, and possibly in cognitive trajectories. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the long-term effects of an early educational intervention for LBW infants now in adolescence.